Ready Schools
DEPC’s Ready Schools initiative supports local elementary schools as they work to meet the unique needs of all children and families. Focus areas of our efforts include: school attendance, school readiness, and summer learning. Family and community engagement are critical to our success.
Help Every Child Become A Successful Reader
The single greatest predictor of future academic and career success is reading on grade level by the end of the third grade.
Only 1 in 3 children in Edgecombe County and 1 in 2 children in Nash County are currently reading on grade level by the end of the third grade. The Twin Counties Read to Rise Campaign focuses on three underlying challenges that can keep young children from learning to read proficiently: Summer Learning, School Attendance, School Readiness
Ready Schools
DEPC’s Ready Schools initiative supports local elementary schools as they work to meet the unique needs of all children and families. Focus areas of our efforts include: school attendance, school readiness, and summer learning. Family and community engagement are critical to our success.
Active Reading
Active Reading is all about reading with a child rather than to a child. It focuses on the ABCs: Asking Questions, Building Vocabulary, and Connecting to the Child’s World. Active Reading helps build a child’s language, vocabulary and comprehension. It works with children 6 months old through 6th grade.
Attendance Matters
It is more difficult for children to learn to read and to gain other foundational academic skills when they miss many school days. Students who are chronically absent in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade are much less likely to read at grade level by third grade and are more likely to have poor attendance in later grades.
Ready Schools Spotlight

DPIL has become a well known program amongst the Twin Counties. Since November 2017, the twin counties have enrolled a total of over 4,500 children!

Data gathered from our Kindergarten Family surveys show that students who participated in DPIL and ROR were more likely to be read to everyday and be considered academically ready by their parents.

We will soon be incorporating story times in at least ONE of our pediatric Reach Out and Read clinics.